Basic Instructions for Brewing
Great Beer with a Coopers Beer Kit

The first thing you will need is a pot capable of holding 1.5-2
gallons. Then you will need some good water. If you generally drink
water from your kitchen tap, you can use it for brewing. If you
don’t, bottled water may be preferable.

If you are using tap water, bring 2 quarts (or liters) of regular
tap water to a boil for 5 minutes to precipitate out any chlorine.
Bottled water may be used to eliminate the pre-boil step. Remove
pot from the heat and mix in the Coopers Unhopped Malt Extract,
dry malt extract or sugar called for in the recipe. For further
discussion on the use of Coopers Unhopped Malt Extract vs. dry malt
extract vs. sugar with Coopers Beer Kits please refer to Understanding
Brewing Sugars. Reapply heat and slowly bring this liquid to near
a boil. Be sure to do this slowly and stir frequently.

After you have brought your liquid (referred to in professional
beermaking as “wort”) to near a boil, or around 180-190’F,
remove from heat. Mix in the contents of your Coopers Brewery Beer
Kit, making sure all syrup is dissolved in solution. Cool the wort
while it is still in the pot. Putting it in a cold water bath will
usually cool your wort to around 100°F in an hour or so. Add
to 3 gallons of pre-boiled, chilled water already in your fermenter.
Chilled drinking water may be used instead of pre-boiling tap water.
Mix contents of fermenter well. Using a sanitized turkey baster,
or "wine thief" remove enough wort to take and record
hydrometer reading. Depending upon the amount of Coopers Unhopped
Malt Extract, dry malt extract, or sugar you use, and the amount
of wort you have, your “original gravity” reading will
be anywhere between 1.038 and 1.050.

When the temperature of your wort is <75’F, add ("pitch"
in brewing parlance) 7-15 grams of Coopers Brewery Beer Yeast, or
yeast called for in recipe. Fermentation should commence within
12-16 hours.

Fermentation will be active and violent. If you are fermenting
in a glass fermenter, you will want to put a "blow-off hose"
on the fermenter. This will allow for a controlled expulsion of
the foaming that occurs early in fermentation. Fermentation generally
takes 3-10 days, depending upon Original Gravity, fermentation temperature
and amount of brewer’s yeast added. When fermentation is done
and you are ready to bottle refer to our instructions
on bottling.